Age of Lady Cora: 1 year, 2 months, and 19 days
Family,
And a good evening to you from the Queen City, where Sammy the Bull is about to pull the curtain on Volume 5 of Raise Kids with the Taylors. I will be "off the map" once I make the next post, as we
only had 5 volumes of "Travel With the Taylors." At some point I think they'll merge, but suffice it to say they are definitely two distinct periods of our lives for now. :-)
March 1: So today we were up and out early (meaning 8:30...), as we had a long drive to Jacksonville, FL for Pattie's softball tournament. The drive was actually really easy, and I am going to come clean now and admit that "having a tablet really does change everything." :-) WOW! Seriously - I had downloaded a few movies and some "My Little Pony" episodes, and K was all about it. Now I will admit that I was a holdout for a long time, but I have accepted there is a reality that a) asking a 4 year old to "admire the scenery" for 6 hours isn't realistic and b) if we can be on our phones and tablets, then why can't they? We mixed it up (she had about 3 hours), and we also had breaks (75 min at Chik-Fil-A and 20 at a gas station where we ran ALL OVER the place), with the end result being a pretty easy drive in great weather all the way to the Sunshine state.
We arrived to find that our place was just ONE BLOCK off the beach! we even had a deck with a GREAT view of the water! We went down to the beach, where Buke got in the waves for the first time ever - she LOVED it! Here smile was so, SO cute. K was in Heaven as well - that girl got in all the way to her waist (counting the waves). It was too cute! Her laughter was infectious. All was good until she got some sand in her eye (it was incredibly gusty), but Mommy was on call and managed to rectify it. That ended our beach time for the day, but we still had a blast (prob had 20-30 min in the water and walking along the sand).
The evening was good until K flat refused to go to sleep. JT and I were on the deck having dinner, and we'd just said, "The girls went down great!" Well, we come back into the living room and hear "Mommy!" from K's room (keep in mind Cora is in the pack 'n play right beside her). Bottom line - K REFUSES to go to sleep. Rather than make a national security issue out of it, we simply put her in the third bedroom until we go to bed (about 10 PM). It was surprising, as we really did think they would sleep. Oh well, so it goes. :-)
3/2 - Girls were up fairly early this morning, and it kicked off a GREAT day! I went for a run on the beach, and then K and I actually got in that water for FORTY MINUTES!!!! K was a rock star - IN HER BATHING SUIT!!!! we played in the waves, and she was jumping over them and laughing non-stop. I couldn't believe how tough that girl was - it was up to her chest at times!
Granny A and Granddaddy rocked up about 11:30, and we then headed over to UNF. The campus was GREAT for us, as we had this huge area to spread out and run around in the outfield. K and I got onto the practice track, and that girl actually ran SIX LAPS!!!!! Admittedly they were spread out, but she ran 1.5 miles and didn't even STOP on the the sixth one. So proud of you, kid!!!! ROCK STAR!!!!!
Between games we hit Veteran's United Brewing, where K did puzzles with Granny A while Cora played her favorite game - put things into buckets. :-) It was funny - she actually got underneath the bottom shelf of toys and just kept taking things out and putting them back in as pretty as you please. It's really amazing how she is such a "more prototypical baby" than K was at this age - amazing to watch the differences! Oh, and it should be noted that K tried gum for the first time ever today...and LOVED it. Seriously - that girl cut through gum this weekend like it was her job. Luckily we have none in the house, so I can continue to bill it as a special treat. :-)
3/3 - So this evening was a ROUGH NIGHT, as I was awakened FIVE TIMES between snoring, Cora calling out, a random knock on the door, and K showing up in our room at 4 AM awake. JT was a quick thinker on her feet and brought in a cushion for K to sleep on in our room, which she did for another hour or two. Needless to say coffee was in high demand that morning!
We were back to the softball fields today, where K managed another mile on the track! That's a good thing, as she arrived and IMMEDIATELY consumed an entire box of sour patch kids (courtesy of Granny A, of course). However, she might have learned her lesson, as they apparently burned her tongue to the point that it hurt her to eat some of her dinner that evening!It was a full on "food fest" throughout the day, as we found time for popcorn and a "colossal dog," as well as an "uncrustable" (courtesy of Pattie Ruth, who didn't want hers between games :-)). K was THRILLED to get the snack from Pattie - too cute watching her eyes light up and then watching her tear into it.
We came home and got another 40 SOLID minutes in the waves, and K was again just AWESOME out there. It was so much fun to play with her, and we kept at it until she said, "I'm freezing!" and finally asked to go back in.
On the Cora front, I am officially scoring her as saying "more" today! She's been doing the symbol for awhile, but today I think she actually said the word (not super clear, of course, but definitely in the ball park). Also, when she wants to go somewhere, she's starting to take us by the hand and lead us. JT noticed it, and since then I've seen it was well. So sweet! That girl is popping up QUICKLY these days - she's almost able to stand up without holding onto something - soon enough! And her smiles (with that scrunched up little face) are just precious.
3/4 - The girls were up at 5:39 AM this morning, but we made it count! It was too windy to do much in the ocean, but K and I did pop over to Oceanfront Beach park to check out the statues and run around a bit there. K walked to the ocean with Granny A and Granddaddy as well, so she still got some good beach time in. :-)
After the game, it was over to Intuition Brewing, where K was treated to a "birthday dinner" of Mac 'n Cheese - 2 rounds of it! Considering that she'd had it for dinner twice (with pizza filling in the other evening), that girl was carbed up! :-) She was tired from the early start, but we managed to hold it together.It was then back home for K's birthday celebration with the fam. They had picked up a cake with her name on it from Publix, and K was ECSTATIC. Throw in some ice cream and presents, and it was a GREAT evening for that girl!
3/5 - Today was the long drive back to CLT (took 8:20 all in with stops), but the girls really did good. Cora was exhausted and only slept about 50 min in the car, which made her quite fussy by the end. However, she did rally, and JT did a tremendous job of keeping her entertained and fed as best she could. The drive was again a balance of snacks, iPads, toys, talking, sleep, CFA, and stretching our legs, which we did this time at a McDonald's/gas station in South Carolina. Cora was ALL OVER the place walking around, and luckily there were a lot of good stretches where she could just keep moving.
Other Jax Highlights:
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| Playing "Sissy Kitties in Lava" at Oceanfront Park (don't ask, as I have NO IDEA) |
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| Cora happy as a clam at Veteran's United Brewing... |
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| LOVE. THIS. PHOTO. |
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| Head butt. CHECK. |
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| "Who are you anyway, lady?" |
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| Early birthday festivities! |
We got home about 5:30, at which point we snapped into the evening ritual mode, getting the girls to bed around 8. All in all, it was a GREAT trip and wrapped up an incredible 10 day period of family time together across multiple states, friends, and activities. I felt truly relaxed, due to a mixture of God's grace, crossing stuff off bucket lists, good weather, great beer, and lots of assistance with the munchkins. THANK YOU, FATHER!!!!!!
3/6 - Today was the return to the grind, and it went good overall. We were aided VERY MUCH by Kate coming over both before and after pre-school. Add in K getting to pick her birthday cake at Publix (she chose Disney Princess Happily Ever After - can't wait to see it), getting a cookie and balloon at Publix, and then returning for Season 2 of gymnastics, and it was a good day. The girls slept great, which obviously helped. Ms. Cheryl said that K had grown a foot!3/7 - Cora slept until we woke her at 8:30 today!!!! Holy Moly that girl was out! When we even put her down for a nap at the normal time, she went down without a sound!
Today was "Wacky Tacky Wednesday" at school, and K and Kate coordinated their look - a pigtail, a braid, pajama bottoms, and a striped dress. I must confess - she looked pretty darn cute. :-)
More importantly, today was the 6 week follow-up from K's bout with pneumonia (the x-ray portion at least). She'll meet with Dr. Knutson next week to confirm whether or not she's all clear. A key topic for us during that session will be the lingering cough she's been carrying since September. I think we'll end up having to see a specialist, but TBD on that. I realize kids get sick often, but this poor thing has been coughing for SO long, and I just don't think it can be normal. And while I realize the days are getting longer, there is a lot of wet hair/pool time in her future, and I want to get her healthy for that.
On the Cora front, she watched K and I playing at "pretending" to eat cack today, and then she emulated it herself! It was cute to watch her do the fake eating and try to make chomping sounds. That girl doesn't miss a trick! Also, the nugget climbed onto K's bed unassisted for the first time ver today. LOOKOUT! On the K front, she had another big milestone today - she successfully opened the top gate on the stairs! This was a big milestone, as to date she didn't have the torque/finger strength to make it happen. Now, however, she officially has the run of the house at any point. We just need to ensure we keep an eye on Buke...
Also, we switched up the plan tonight where I crawled through mommy's legs. K thought that was about the funniest thing ever. I tried to crawl through K's legs as well - with mixed success. She laughed, and it might have extended the life of the plan by offering us some variety. :-)Oh, and K is exclusively tablet vs. TV now for her daily show (aka My Little Pony). You may ask why she chooses the smaller screen? Well, it's because the second one ends she can jump RIGHT to the next one without mommy and daddy's assistance (or knowledge if we're not watching the clock). She's a wily one!
3/8 - Today kicked off the officially 4 day birthday fiesta for the Goose, and MAN did she have fun! We started today by giving her our "big gift" - an aquarium pass! Jenny had wrapped the Aquarium magnet, and when K opened it you could watch the gears turn as she figured it out. She was THRILLED when she learned they were going (don't think it hit her that they had the pass and could go anytime they wanted), and they had a blast in there - spent over an hour (a record for K). A friend from preschool was there, and so they got on like a house on fire. That evening we played a little game from one of my old "Busy town books" - this was a game 4 decades in the making! K was way ahead until the end (still no idea how I won), and she was so upset she cried REAL TEARS!
3/9 - This day started as all great birthday weekends should - with sugar. :-) K had mini pancakes for breakfast, and then it was off to preschool where JT had cupcakes for her class! They sang to Kaitlyn, and as "K" was the letter of the week in Show and Tell, she was obviously the star of the show.
After preschool she and I went for a birthday swim, where we had a classic moment. We are playing when she NAILS me with an inadvertent kick in the nether region. She asks what happened (as I grunted obviously), and I said, "You kicked me in the tummy." Her response: "I thought I kicked you in the crotch." NICE.
We returned home to find VOL NANA at the house! K was instantly in Heaven, and the rest of the evening was great. K got to open an "early present" (a Hatcnhimal playground), and they even played some "Snowball pong" (think beer pong but with marshmallows in the shape of a Christmas tree). Mom had kept it in her car since Christmas thinking that K would love to play it, and boy she sure did! She LOVED throwing those marshmallows, and dare I say that girl was really good. Look out, frat boys! She's gonna own you in about 15 (or so) years. :-)
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| "DADA!!!! Feed me!!!!" |
Big news on the Buke front (by my count, at least) - SHE SAID DADA TODAY!!!!!! Granted, it's not been super consistent. Granted, sometimes it sounds more like GAGA. Granted, I could just be desperate to get her to the 5 word mark. Granted, I just want to hear Dada. But putting all that aside, I am scoring today as the day it happened. BOOM SHAKALA. And another cute Buke item - when she sees the door open now, she basically sprints to it (it's insane how fast - and tall! - that kid is getting). But in addition, she's now getting her shoes, handing them to JT, and walking to the door! It is adorable (and certainly preferable to when she poops and then comes and finds us :-)).
We got the girls down around 8ish that night, as an EPIC weekend was about to unfold.
3/10 - So today was a WHIRLWIND of activity! Kate arrived about 9 AM, and shortly thereafter we headed out for K's birthday destination - MONKEY JOE'S!!!!! Y'all, the next 3.5 hours were AWESOME, and K absolutely loved it. The facility was GREAT, as the kids could just run wild. We had TWENTY FOUR kids at this shindig, and they were going flat out from 9:50 (when it opened) until 11 (when we broke for lunch). The kids were sucking down fruit punch, pizza, and cake for another 30 min, and then it was back to the bounce houses for another HOUR! This place was perfect for us, as the kids could really run around and enjoy themselves while the parents chatted and relaxed. And the room was perfect, as there was this HUGE chair K sat in while folks sang happy birthday to her (without the "cha cha cha" since she didn't like that :-)).
The cake was AMAZING - a Disney Princess Castle cake from Publix. It was strawberry, and that thing was basically a work of art! Also, as it was HUGE, everyone got a piece that wanted one (we still have some in the house as I type this 2 days later). Also, we carted out almost TWENTY gifts from that place - holy moly!!!!! I have to say - having done this at home the year before, this was MUCH better (and honestly about the same price!). They took care of everything, and we just got to walk away when it was all said and done. I am SO GLAD K wanted to do it there, as it really was perfect - not stressful, no drama, and easy from start to finish. Buke loved it as well, as she had huge stretches where she could just run wild with a head of steam in any direction. We got her into the under 3 bounce house for a bit, and she made it for about 15 minutes before she'd had enough.
On the way out, Vol Nana treated K and Kate to Icee's before we drove home, where the girls then proceeded to play together (and open presents) until 4 PM! They had a BLAST, and it was so cute to watch them with the gifts. Kate was all about opening getting them out of the bags, but TT was all about actually OPENING every single gift. They had to take a break halfway through (about 14 gifts in), as we had to clean up. That was great, though, as it gave us a chance to tidy up a bit.By the time we'd finished unwrapping, I was SHOCKED at how many gifts we had- AND how many small parts there were. I mean - Shopkins - are you KIDDING ME? These things are designed for gnats to play with! That being said, K got a lot of really neat stuff, with 3 highlights in particular:
1. Her very first alarm clock! This was one of the things she specifically asked for, and she was THRILLEd when she got it. However, she was NOT happy at me the following morning, as no alarm went off to tell her when it was time to wake up. When I said, "I didn't set your alarm," she said, "No, dada. Not the alarm - THE CLOCK! Why didn't the clock tell me when to wake up." Riiiiiight. So I explained there is a light on it that will glow when she can get up. Her response, "But if I'm asleep, how will I know the light's on." I mean...we'll get there. :-)2. K was almost done with presents when she said, "Did no one buy me mousetrap?" Sure enough - Aunt Jimmy in the clutch! And I gotta say - this was probably the biggest hit of them all, as K has LOVED playing it. And best of all - she's undefeated so far! She even "captured" both JT and I in the same round! She is loving it (and credit to Vol Nana for assembling the trap - 23 steps!).
3. Mom bought K a 60 piece puzzle of Sweetie Pie from Shutterfly - so cute and original! She loved it, and we are going to lacquer and frame it at some point. Too cute!
Bed time that night was around 8:30, with K all smiles (and still likely filled with sugar :-)). What a GREAT DAY in the books!
The day in review (in pictures):
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| A cake fit for a princess! (At $57, it outta be... :-)) |
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| Head into the Red Room! |
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| K with Emmi - love this pic. |
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| Um...guess I forgot to mention no gifts... |
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| Throw in some pizza, cake, and fruit juice... |
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| And one very odd Monkey... |
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| And a boatload of gifts... |
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| And another... |
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| And you have one VERY happy girl! |
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| Kicking the day off with IHOP... |
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| Then hitting the trampoline at Concord Mills. |
As it was Buke's nap time and we didn't want anything detracting from the experience, I stayed back with the Nugget while mom, JT, and K headed to Concord Mills. The next 4 hours were likely the best of Kaitlyn's life, as she absolutely tore that place UP! First off, she hopped onto one of the little merry-go-round rides right as it was starting (someone else had popped in a quarter for their kid). After that it was over to the event she was most excited about - the high flying trampoline! She had a blast and absolutely LOVED it. She then hit the aquarium, followed by the big carousel, and then the "Those Animals" ride (she picked a unicorn). Oh, and when Jenny left to return the unicorn, she returned to find K had a TRIPLE SCOOP WAFFLE CONE WITH CHOCOLATE AND SPRINKLES FROM COLD STONE. Seriously - there is NO WAY any average adult could have eaten that, but K took it down with NO PROBLEM.
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| Daddy's gift - riding the animals... |
It was then over to Pippa's for birthday dinner out, where K had Mac 'n cheese and watched Toy Story 2 on the telly while I watched the selection show, fed Cora, chatted with mom, and had a burger. Then it was home for some more mousetrap (K won again!) before bath and bed around 8:30. K was great, but she definitely started to get sad as we got ready to read that evening. She looked at me as I was about to pray and said, "I'm getting sad about Vol Nana leaving" (mom was there, too). However, she did a really good job of keeping her composure. Mom later told me that, during the prayer, she mouthed "I love you" to K, who mouthed it back, still fighting to keep it together. Jumping ahead to the following morning (it's 3/12 as I type this), K was a little grumpy, but between having Kate here before preschool, getting to say bye to Vol Nana, and having a new week of school to look forward to, she managed to keep it together. In the car she did tell JT, "I'm sad and I want to cry." However, when Jt reminded her that she would see mom in 10 days, all seemed to be well. And I am happy to report that the day was terrific. However, as that is the first day of Year 6, you'll have to wait until the next volume to see how it all went. :-)
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| No. Words. Except 1400 calories. CHECK. |
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| MOUSETRAP! |
So there you have it - year 5 in the books. These first 2.5 months of 2018 have been the best of my entire life, and this past year with the girls has been nothing short of amazing, exhausting, elating, epic, and incredible. Life's rich tapestry is on display every day with the 3 ladies I share 4 walls and a roof with, and I couldn't possibly be happier. My cup truly runneth over.
Cora - how you have changed over this past year has been nothing short of miraculous. You have gone from the angriest child I've ever met to one of the sweetest, and your smile is absolutely infectious. I love how you walk like a penguin, have hair like a whale spout, love to giggle during Itsy Bitsy spider, bump heads with me and think it's hilarious, eat cheese as if it's always your last meal on earth, find mommy as soon as you poop, and all the other billion things that make you such a special and unique creation of God. You are our rainbow baby, and I will never be able to express to you how thankful to God I am that of all the souls in Heaven, He assigned you to complete our Fearsome Foursome.
Kaitlyn - FIVE YEARS OLD! Every day with you has been a voyage of discovery, and I have loved crossing this uncharted ocean we call parenthood with you. When you read this decades from now, don't focus on the tough times when you and I butted heads, as those really were few and far between. Focus on all the laughter, the great quotes you had, the moments of achievement as you slayed new dragons that you previously thought were unbeatable (like riding your bike to the park!), the snuggles during bedtime, the surprised happy moments when you got that extra piece of chocolate, the thrill you had showing us your gymnastics moves, and all the other myriad moments that have made me so proud, honored, and blessed to be called your daddy. I love you, Munchkin. Never doubt for a second how deep and unchanging that love is.
And lastly, to my queen, my wife, my love: Jenny - WOW, can you believe we've been doing this half a decade? 50 countries between us, but not journey has been tougher, more fun, more surprise filled, or more rewarding than this adventure we are currently on. you have always been an incredible wife, friend, and person, so I never had any doubts that you would be an exceptional mother. But even with that lofty expectation, you have continued to be the most amazing mother, role model, and person I have ever known. Between the two of us, there is no question you have the tougher job, yet you handle it with a never-ending sense of purpose, strength, and grace. I am so proud of you and SO thankful that you are in my life and are the woman the girls are going to learn many of life's lessons from. There is no Chief Domestic Officer like you, and as with the girls - I cannot believe God blessed me with such an amazing woman to call my wife.
For my part, I am just thankful to be on this journey, thankful for all the blessings God has showered down on us, and thankful that God is still creating pockets of time for me to continue this history. I definitely intend to keep rolling through into Volume 6, knowing full well that I don't know the format or level of detail I will be able to provide. However, in the spirit of being "present over perfect," I want to do everything I can to record this history until the girls start writing and remembering their own story. As they say in Great Expectations: "I'm not going to tell it the way it happened. I'm going to tell it the way I remember it."
Okay, that's all the news that's fit to print. Chat soon!
Love,
Sam (the Bull), Jenny (the Striker), Kaitlyn (the Goose), and Cora (the Nugget)
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